Budanov personally joined 2023 Belgorod incursion

A Ukrainian military commander has revealed that Kyrylo Budanov, then-head of Ukraine's GUR military intelligence and now head of the President's Office, personally participated in cross-border raids into Russia's Belgorod region in 2023. Commander Timur of the GUR's 'Timur Special Unit' stated in an interview that Budanov joined operations in the Grayvoronsky and Shebekinsky districts during May-June 2023, even signing a building with his name and date. The interview included a photograph geolocated to the entrance of a grocery store in Novaya Tavolzhanka village, where Russian Volunteer Corps commander Denis Kapustin also recorded a video in June 2023. This represents the first direct confirmation of Budanov's personal involvement in these controversial cross-border operations.